On International Indigenous Peoples Day, new briefing paper calls on banks and financiers to protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In recognition of World’s Indigenous Peoples Day, a new briefing paper calls on banks and financiers to prohibit harmful financing in areas where Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) has not been obtained from Indigenous Peoples and local communities. 

Co-published by Friends of the Earth US, Cultural Survival, and Instituto Maíra, the paper, “Protecting biodiversity from harmful financing: Areas where the free, prior, informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous and Local Communities have not been obtained,” demonstrates the vital role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play in protecting biodiversity. It explains the nuances in how Free, Prior, Informed Consent is a unique right to Indigenous Peoples guaranteed under international law, whereas FPIC can be used as a best practice in engaging local communities.  

Although Indigenous Peoples make up just six percent of the world’s population, their lands hold 80% of the world’s biodiversity. In order to protect biodiversity, banks and financiers must protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as the two are inexorably linked. Indigenous and community lands and forests are associated with lower rates of deforestation, higher levels of carbon storage, reduced conflict, and overall better biodiversity conservation. Yet banks are driving biodiversity loss, climate change, and human rights abuses via their continued financial support to high-risk sectors, particularly fossil fuels, extractive industries, and industrial agriculture.  

The paper provides useful lessons and key takeaways on how the international banking sector can establish robust Indigenous Peoples policies.  

Key takeaways of this paper include: 

1. Banks and financiers should strengthen protections for protected or at-risk marine or coastland ecosystems and prohibit harmful financing impacting these areas. The Banks and Biodiversity Initiative encourages banks and financiers to draw from our proposed definition of such ecosystems: “protected or at-risk marine or coastland ecosystems, include mangrove forests, wetlands, reef systems, and those located in formally, informally, or traditionally held areas, Indigenous Territories (ITs), or public lands not yet demarcated, or Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCA).”  
2. The international banking sector writ large has yet to fully develop protections on marine and coastland areas.  
3. Banks and financiers should draw from existing international frameworks in order to identify, prioritize, and protect protected and at-risk marine and coastland areas.  
4. Banks and financiers should take a precautionary approach to deep sea mining, and establish a moratorium on financing deep sea mining unless the risks of mining are comprehensively understood and effective protection can be ensured, and that mechanisms are in place to consult with the public throughout decision-making.  
5. Banks and financiers should prohibit financing to the expansion, extraction, and shipping of fossil fuels. 
6. Banks and financiers should conduct stronger due diligence for land-based activities which may have significant marine and coastland impacts, and require relevant, accurate, robust assessments on such impacts. These include associated infrastructure and indirect impacts of fossil fuel, mining, and other similar extractive activities in coastal areas, such as ports, shipping traffic, pollution, noise pollution, etc.  
7. Banks and financiers should consider how their financing decisions may preclude financing in more sustainable development pathways. For instance, financing harmful, high-risk sectors, such as fossil fuels, often precludes financing sustainable alternatives, especially in coastal areas with high tourism potential or biodiversity value.  
8. Banks and financiers would benefit from improving or establishing strong Indigenous Peoples policies which protect the right to self-determination, sovereignty, and free, prior, informed consent.  
9. Banks and financiers should require free, prior, informed consent as a right to Indigenous Peoples, and as a best practice for consulting local communities.  
10. Projects and activities that harm biodiversity and Indigenous communities face potential legal and financial liabilities, making them risky investments for banks.

This paper is part of Friends of the Earth US’ new “Protecting Biodiversity from Harmful Financing” briefing paper series, which underscores why banks and financiers should exclude harmful, unsustainable financing to activities and projects which impact critical, at-risk ecosystems.  

Each briefing paper is dedicated to a key area as identified by the Banks and Biodiversity Initiative’s eight proposed No Go Areas. This paper is about areas where free, prior and informed consent has not been obtained by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, which is paper 07 of the series. 

Full briefing paper series includes: 

1. No Go area 1: Internationally recognized areas 
2. No Go area 2: Nationally recognized areas 
3. No Go area 3: Key Biodiversity Areas and habitats with endangered and endemic species 
4. No Go area 4: Primary and vulnerable secondary forests  

1. No Go area 5: Free flowing rivers 
2. No Go area 6: Protected or at-risk marine and coastland ecosystems   
3. No Go area 7: Areas where Free, Prior and Informed Consent has not been obtained by Indigenous Peoples and local communities  
4. No Go area 8: Iconic, transboundary ecosystems